Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!! There were many years when it was hard for me to acknowledge Valentines Day. Instead, I would celebrate Arizona's birthday (which is the same day) while trying to avoid the copious displays of romantic love that surrounded me. However, my nephew and niece (Tyler and Kate) would always ensure I had a sweet treat or something special on this day of love. I am so grateful for the amazing family I have. Never once did I question if I was ever loved. While I may not have had the romantic love that this day seems dedicated to, I always had the reassuring familial love that never waned. Now I have both! I don't know how I got to be so incredibly lucky. I have the love of my family of origin plus my new little family and, most importantly, my eternal companion. Jeff is my forever Valentine. He is my best friend, my anchor in the storms of life, my biggest support, my safety net, and my eternal love. Today he woke me up with a plate of goodies and a sweet card. On that plate, were also 14 reasons why he loves me.

For the past 14 days, I have placed little hearts on the kids' doors and on our door for Jeff. Each heart contained one thing about that individual that I love. We have some pretty amazing kids! It was not hard to come up with 14 reasons that I love them. On the last day, I also gave each a bag of Valentines candy. Let's be honest...that's better than any gift they could receive! Especially for my sugared-up boys!

In return, the kids also made me a plate of goodies. Danny even made a block of wood in which he carved out "I Love You Mom" on the sides. I was quite impressed with his carpentry skills.

That afternoon/evening, Jeff and I went out on our traditional Valentines Day date. We started by going to the temple to do proxy marriages or sealings. I can't think of a better way to spend the day than to serve those individuals who have passed on and to help them be sealed or bound to their sweethearts for eternity. As I knelt across the altar from Jeff, I was reminded of our own wedding day, when we were sealed together for eternity. That has been the best day of my life! I knew I loved Jeff then but that love has only been enriched with the passage of time. I couldn't have asked for a better companion on my journey through life. I have always been pretty independent, but it is so nice to trust and depend on someone who I know loves me as much, if not more, than I love him! After we completed our temple service, we had dinner at Olive Garden before heading home to watch a cheesy Valentine's Hallmark movies (that's how I know it's true love...Jeff will actually endure cheesy Hallmark movies with me!) It was a great Valentines Day!